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Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience Commons

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Full-Text Articles in Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience

The Role Of Skeletal Muscle-Synthesized Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor In The Maintenance Of Motor Neuron Mitochondrial Populations, Mikel Cawley Aug 2020

The Role Of Skeletal Muscle-Synthesized Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor In The Maintenance Of Motor Neuron Mitochondrial Populations, Mikel Cawley

All NMU Master's Theses

Mitochondria are essential for the high energy demands of the neuromuscular junction and, as a consequence, leave motorneurons susceptible to dysfunction. A potential origin of progressive pathology may be a reduction in brain-derived neurotrophic-factor (BDNF) signaling at the motor unit. We have shown that mice deficient in skeletal muscle-synthesized BDNF (msBDNF) demonstrate progressive motorneuron and muscle pathology at 120d. We hypothesize mitochondrial populations will be altered in motorneurons of msBDNF deficient-mice. At 117d, msBDNF deficient-mice received intramuscular injections of MitoTracker™ dye targeting the right gastrocnemius muscle. At 120d experimental groups underwent a gastrocnemius harvest or a sciatic nerve ligation protocol …


Serum-Based Biomarkers And Magnetic Resonance Imaging Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury In Collegiate Athletes Post Return-To-Play, Taylor R. Susa Apr 2020

Serum-Based Biomarkers And Magnetic Resonance Imaging Following Mild Traumatic Brain Injury In Collegiate Athletes Post Return-To-Play, Taylor R. Susa

All NMU Master's Theses

Recently there has been an increase in the use of MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging), to measure the effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI). Proteins such as BDNF, S100B, UCH-L1, and Tau have been found to have altered levels in blood serum after TBI. However, there is limited knowledge about the relationship between serum-based and MRI-based biomarkers in concussed athletes post return-to-play. This study aimed to bridge this gap by collecting serum samples from 42 participants across two groups. The first group (n = 21) consisted of recently cleared to return-to-play collegiate athletes after experiencing a sports-related concussion. The second group …